GOAL sat down with the American defender to discuss the gut punches, the photos that mean everything to him, and what it means to enjoy life even when it isn’t perfect.
It’s almost cruel to ask a photographer to pick favorites. Every image is more than a picture – it’s a memory. Each one holds the who, what, where, when, and why of a life. For photographers, a single frame can feel like a piece of themselves, caught in the click of the shutter.
U.S. international Mark McKenzie is still new at this photography thing, less than one year in, but even for him, picking favorites is tough. He'll narrow it down to two, though. The first came this summer while on a trip to Greece. He was there with his wife alongside national team teammate Chris Richards and his girlfriend. What sticks out about those particular photos is how carefree they were. Those were the simple times.
"It was a time when we weren't thinking about anything, just enjoying the moment, just at peace," McKenzie tells GOAL. "We were on a boat just sitting watching the sun as it hit the waves, talking about how crystal clear the water was. Chris and I are diving off the boat. Those pictures, the sheer enjoyment, the sheer peace that we were in…"
The defender, who stars for Toulouse in Ligue 1, drifts off and begins describing another favorite set. They’re from the complicated moments – the good kind. He won’t quite say it, but these are the ones he treasures most. Taken just weeks after that Greece trip, they were shot in the hospital, in the moments after his son was born.
"Those speak for themselves," he says with a smile. "We had our parents there and seeing them experience the joy of holding their first grandchild. There was this moment of love that we felt in the room. Seeing my parents turn into grandparents was like, what? I just realized that life moves fast."
That end statement, the life-moving-fast part, is at the core of all of this. It's the reason McKenzie started picking up the camera in the first place. Few do so these days, particularly with the convenience of a smartphone in their pocket, but McKenzie doesn't take pictures for convenience. He takes photos to capture life, warts and all. He takes pictures to have something tangible to hold that allows him to look back on that life. He takes them to remind himself that this existence is made up of split seconds, and the moment you forget that fact is the moment that those split seconds start to feel a little bit more insignificant.
"I think this past year has been a realization of just becoming more present, more focused on the moment," he says. "It's about appreciating being present and how fleeting all of this stuff is. At the end of it all, my family and my loved ones are the most important factor in my life outside of my faith. I think that these are the moments that are the most beautiful moments and, as you get older, those moments start to become a little bit fast."
McKenzie's journey as a photographer, then, is really his journey in life. It's a life that promises to twist and turn over the next year as he fights for a World Cup spot with the USMNT. That fight will evolve quickly over the next few months, and McKenzie knows better than most that it can evolve in the harshest of ways. The build-up to that will include numerous games, challenges, and, again, moments that could ultimately determine whether or not McKenzie achieves his dream or not.
So how do you fight against that? How do you stop and acknowledge how fast life is moving while also working in an industry that demands that you move even faster? How do you find some semblance of peace in the process while knowing how all-encompassing the end result is? Well, you do so by enjoying the journey, and McKenzie has found his way of doing that: snapping some pictures along the way.
- Getty Images Sport
Living in the present
McKenzie's photography journey, in some ways, started just this year. When his wife got pregnant, he was inspired to document their journey to parenthood. It evolved into something more than that, though. At the Gold Cup, he frequently had his camera in hand to capture the quiet moments of USMNT camp. The hobby became something less focused and something a bit more freeing.
It wasn't totally new, though. He'd had an interest in it since childhood. His parents often joked about how he always wanted to be behind the camera, taking pictures more than actually being in them. It's just that, as a footballer, his profession generally calls on him to be on the other side of the camera. International soccer stars aren't just on that side of the lens; they're under the microscope with the world watching.
McKenzie uses his camera to watch the world. More importantly, though, he uses it to capture a glimpse into that world. The glimpse isn't always perfect, but it doesn't have to be. In McKenzie's eyes, it shouldn't be.
"With film photography, you don't get the instant gratification of what the photo looks like," he says. "You take the photo, and then you're not so concerned. We have iPhones now. You take the photo, and then you want to edit it or take it again. You spend so much time taking the picture and trying to find the best angle and making sure it isn't blurry, and the next thing you know, you've lost the actual feeling. You've lost the meaning behind taking the photo itself."
That was a lesson McKenzie took from childhood. He looks back fondly on the moments his entire family was together, digging through shoeboxes to look back at old pictures.
Now, he gets to be the one behind the camera, creating his own documentation of life in a way that many have forgotten over the years. Then, once they're created, he doesn't just show them off on an LED screen. Scrolling through iPhone camera rolls is so impersonal, he believes. There's just a different sensation that comes from actually holding a memory.
"It's that nostalgic feeling," he says. "I'd go to my grandma's, and it felt like she had all of our youth in a shoe box. You pull them out, and you just say, 'Wow, yeah, this is what life was like back then. ' You value those times. I'm 26. I have a son now, and I'm married. Those days of being at home? Those times with my family, my mom, my dad, and my sister? They're a blessing. When those times become less frequent, you realize how important they are and how intentional you have to be about making time for them. You have to prioritize it. That's the root of this: just being present."
There's a forward-thinking aspect of it, too. At the Gold Cup, McKenzie often thought about the fact that his son would someday get to look at his pictures, not on a phone but in his hand. In truth, McKenzie's son is at the forefront of most things he does these days. That's fatherhood, right?
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Redefining himself after becoming a father
Everyone says that you can feel the exact second your life changes. Anyone who has become a parent can identify with it. That includes McKenzie. The moment he held his son, everything else seemed to disappear. It was at that moment that he ceased being anything other than a father, at least in his own eyes.
"Alongside marrying my wife, having our son is the biggest blessing in life. There's nothing that can top it," he says. "I don't think there's a trophy or individual accolade or World Cup or Champions League that can top that feeling of holding your child. Babies are one of God's many miracles…The whole perspective I have on my life, my career, my decision-making, all of that shifted to what's best for my family and setting him up for success and making sure his future is better than mine."
Fatherhood, of course, has come with its own unique set of challenges. With McKenzie currently playing for Toulouse in France, family isn't particularly close by as he hails from the Bronx in New York City. Loved ones have found a way to help out in shifts. Parents and siblings have come across the Atlantic in waves to help the McKenzies navigate this crazy, life-changing world of parenthood.
"The late nights are difficult because I've got training and games," he says. "Then there are just the moments where my wife needs a break to reset, right? It's easier said than done, but I have to give so much credit to my wife. She's done a phenomenal job."
Parenthood doesn't just alter your sleep schedule, though; it also alters your mindset. McKenzie felt that happen to him in real time. For years, he's placed so much of his self-worth into his life as a soccer player. His successes and failures, ultimately, defined him right up until the next roster, game, or trophy. It's a feeling anyone in a competitive field knows. McKenzie, like many, has found himself lost in that field.
Not as much anymore, he says. He's more comfortable within himself now, largely because he has redefined what "himself" actually means.
"The game loves you one day and chews you out the next day," he says. "I've had games where I was flying and the best I could ever be, and games where I made mistakes and people wanted me out. I think, through those experiences, I've been able to recognize that football is a part of who I am, but it's not who I am.
"It's something I love dearly, but when I step off the pitch, my son doesn't care if I scored or made 10 blocks; he cares about the fact that I love him and that he's cared for and that he feels my presence every day."
That shift has helped him find balance – as a player, and as a person.
"I put so much pressure on myself to not make mistakes and be perfect and make sure people wouldn't be able to say bad things about me after the game, but the reality is that people can always find something. There's always something they'll want to change or a person they'll prefer over you because they do this or that better. When I started to realize that, I became more mature and grounded in my faith.
"The biggest step is recognizing that I go out there, I give my all to play to the best of my ability. After that, I can only control what I can control: my work ethic and my mentality. Then, what everyone else see and say after the game? That's out of my control."
A lot is beyond McKenzie’s control at the moment. That’s simply the reality of the months ahead.
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Learning from gut punches
McKenzie has achieved more than he likely could have dreamed of in his soccer career. He emerged as a homegrown star with the Philadelphia Union, earned a European move to Genk and a rise up the ladder with Toulouse, where he's now thriving in Ligue 1, one of the best leagues in the world. Internationally, he's earned 25 caps for his country, won two Nations League trophies and earned a spot at both the 2024 Copa America and 2025 Gold Cup.
There’s still one moment that eats at him: finding out he wasn’t selected for the 2022 World Cup. He knew he was on the fringes, and he knew his exclusion was a real possibility. It still hurt. Nothing could prepare him for that kind of letdown.
"It's who I am," he says. "I'm a competitor at the end of the day, but I think there's also a line where that competitive edge can drive you too far, and you become so encompassed with this one idea, with this one concept, that you lose sight of who you are and you lose your identity. Missing out on the 22 World Cup? It ripped me apart, bro. It was gutwrenching because I was so close. When you get that call that you're not going, that you weren't selected, it's a punch to the stomach.
"It's an important feeling to have, I think, because it puts everything in perspective in life. Okay, maybe I put too much onus on this, so much that I lost who I was, lost focus on being present, lost focus on the small areas of my game or my life that I need to improve."
McKenzie has improved. He's been right in the mix under USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino, who has had the team humming this fall with a five-game unbeaten run against World Cup-bound teams. Under Pochettino, the U.S. has switched to a back three system, something that McKenzie plays regularly with Toulouse. The 26-year-old defender recently started against Uruguay, helping the U.S. to a 5-1 win in a game where he had the honor of wearing the captain's armband.
Once again, McKenzie is right in the mix just a few months before the game's biggest tournament. This time, though, it feels different. In 2022, McKenzie can acknowledge that he struggled to stay present, that he was always looking at the bigger picture. Not this time.
"If you asked me about it four or five years ago, I would have told you like, 'Oh yeah, every day it's on my mind, and everything I do is pointing towards it'," he says. "Again, my identity now isn't just this game. I know I have that hunger and drive and competitive nature to be at the World Cup, don't get me twisted. When I say that's my goal to be in that World Cup squad, I mean it: my goal is to be there in 2026.
"My mentality is to do everything I can and control everything I can to be there, but I can't control anything outside of that. It's a dream to play there and, if I get that opportunity, I'll make the absolute most of it."
Until then, there's so much to do. There are photos to take, a son to raise, and some little things to enjoy that, ultimately, could make all the difference.
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The fast life
One year after making his big move, McKenzie feels comfortable in France. His French has gotten better. He and his wife have a grocery store they love, one with fresh produce. There's a preferred butcher in town, too. Most importantly, there's a sense of home
Publicly, McKenzie offers few glimpses into that. His social media, by and large, focuses on soccer. There are very few behind-the-scenes photos of the McKenzies. There was no grand announcement when they became parents. Everyone would find out at some point, at least everyone who really mattered. There was no need to broadcast it all to the world.
It's not that McKenzie doesn't want people to know him. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's just that there are some aspects of life that he and his family want for themselves alone.
"I try not to live in the media or on social media," McKenzie says. "I saw a video recently about how we've become more like TV characters than actual people. We're living through a screen and posting to get likes and whatnot. You lose that real aspect of who you actually are. I try to be open as I can, but also try to keep my life, in a sense, in a bit of shade as well. Not everything needs to be broadcast, but there are things that matter more and things that should be talked about.
"I think it's important in this day and age to be real, but also just to live your life, man. Don't spend it so focused on what everybody else is going to say."
Who knows what the next few months will bring? Who knows where life will take McKenzie? Not long ago, he was on that boat with Richards, diving into the sea without a care. Now there’s so much to think about, so many moving parts that won’t slow down.
That’s where the photos help. They’ll get better, he says, because he’s still learning. They don’t need to, though. It isn’t about sharper shots or better technique. The camera is a way to make sense of it all. Like everything else in his life, he’s still figuring it out.
"It's something that takes me outside of myself," McKenzie says, reflecting on his still-new hobby. "It takes me out of how pragmatic I am and how structured I am. I'm disciplined, and this makes me tap into a creative side of my mind and a more artistic part of who I am. In the beginning, you're learning and there are challenges that come with that, but that's also where you find the most enjoyment, right? You can look back and say, 'Last year, I was doing this, and now I'm doing this. ' It helps me step outside of this game that takes up so much of my life. I'm blessed to do it for a living, but I have an opportunity to not be a footballer all the time. That's important.
"I've just realized that life moves fast," he concludes. "Life moves so fast, man, and if you aren't careful, it goes right past you before you even realize it. So enjoy it, man. Really enjoy it."